All manhwa I recommend are free online but as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through some links in this post.
My definition of a “strong female lead” is probably similar to most readers, especially those who like historical manhwa/otome isekai.
They can do things like:
- hold their own in a fight
- stand up for themselves
- adapt to scary situations
- pursue their own goals
If you’re interested in a protagonist with one or more of the above traits, here’s a recommendation list of my best historical manhwa with strong female leads that I’ve read so far!
1. The Wicked Ladies-in-Waiting
This manhwa has two strong female characters, the FL and her fellow lady-in-waiting, with an amazing female friendship
Julia Arte was murdered eight times by House Marjoram.
And every time she comes back to life, it’s after she’s saved from freezing to death while waiting for her lover, Vasily Marjoram.
Choosing to get revenge and avoid their assassins, she starts her ninth life by winning over Carus Lankea, the leader of a group of imperial knights who saved her in every life.
She then becomes Prince Lewisia Ortega’s lady-in-waiting despite being a commoner.
Her goal is to make him, an enemy of House Marjoram, gain influence despite his illegitimate status so she can use him to bring down House Marjoram.
2. The Villainess’s Dazzling Debut
You’ll like this if you enjoy female leads who aren’t afraid to throw their royal weight around
Ethela is a princess of the Inuas kingdom and in her first life, her fiancé cheated on Ethela with her cousin.
Then her other cousin, Chantea, framed her as an illegitimate child so that he could steal the throne.
After that, Chantea sent Ethela away to the Ice Palace where she stayed until she died alone.
To her surprise, Ethela travels back in time while also gaining a new ability to tell when someone is lying and she’s now out to get the throne that belongs to her.
3. For My Derelict Favorite
I recommend this if you want to see a fangirl FL who is chaotic and petty
One day, Hestia reincarnated into her favorite novel as a nameless extra.
She wasn’t worried though since she could watch her favorite character, Cael, as the novel’s plot unfolded.
Plus, she assumed she’d return home after the novel’s ending.
However, she stays past the ending and Cael ends his life as a result of his depression.
Being trapped in a novel and having nothing to live for, Hestia hits her lowest point.
But then she suddenly goes back in time to the day of the novel’s end.
Not wanting to waste her second chance, Hestia decides she’s going to save Cael and take revenge for him against the novel’s main couple.
4. The Unintentionally Ideal Adopted Daughter
You might like this if you enjoy watching a female lead stand her ground even when she’s scared for her life
Arin Han has reincarnated into 7-year-old Viola Vellatoux from her favorite novel but that’s not necessarily a good thing for two reasons.
The first is that Viola doesn’t have a happy ending in the original story, having used everything in her power to kill or remove everyone else from the line of succession and ending up alone.
And the second is that her murder-happy family will not hesitate to do what it takes to get ahead.
This includes things like assassination, violence, poison, and so on.
Viola’s main goal is to survive and live a happy life with her family, both of which require pretending that she wants the right to succession and she’s a manipulative genius.
But in truth, she’s constantly panicking on the inside, terrified of being found out and then killed.
5. Beware the Villainess
Read 133 chapters (completed) on 
Tapas
Buy the e-book or paperback on Amazon
You’ll love this if you want a female lead who’s not afraid to call people out and fight them too
Melissa Foddebrat was supposed to try to get in between the heroine, Yuri, and the crown prince.
Instead, she gets in between Yuri and all 4 male leads.
This is because Melissa was a college student and former fan of the novel she’s currently in.
She enjoyed reading about the male leads and their pursuit of Yuri but experiencing the story for herself and societal rules that go with it is a different story.
So instead of letting the men do as they please, she takes charge and begins changing the plot.
6. Go Away Romeo
This FL is a mom willing to stand up against her family and society for the sake of her son
This is an alternate take on Romeo & Juliet.
Rosaline Capulet fell in love with Romeo Montague and thought they would be together forever.
Unfortunately, he “dies” on the same day as her cousin, Juliet, leaving her to grieve and with a son.
Her grief changes into soul-crushing heartbreak when she finds out about his infidelity and faked death.
Now, what she cares about most is her son and making sure he grows up happy.
To do that, she works to raise her standing within the Capulet family despite being the family embarrassment.
However, Romeo and Juliet’s return throws her life and Verona into chaos.
7. The Price is Your Everything
This is for people who love to see a FL tearing down her enemies one by one
Nerys’ first life was filled with bullying and misery, ending in betrayal when she was poisoned.
She then goes back in time to when she started at the academy and starts plotting her revenge against everyone who took advantage of her, starting with her classmates.
While she does give some a chance to prove they can change, they don’t and Nerys rewards them for that.
She’s ruthless and strategic, outsmarting everyone who tries to mess with her or who she knows will try in the future.
And even better, many of the antagonists are under the illusion that she can be taken advantage of.
8. Sigrid
This FL can fight better than most and is unfazed by her society’s gender norms
Sigrid was obsessed with the image of an ideal knight.
Her sense of duty compelled her to do horrible things for the emperor until he betrayed and sentenced her to death.
As she’s executed, Sigrid is sent five years back in time.
Realizing that loyalty and self-sacrifice would lead to nothing, Sigrid starts changing the way she lives and creating bonds with the people around her.
However, the emperor and events from her first life start to get in the way of her newfound happiness.
9. Not Your Typical Reincarnation Story
Try this if you like a FL who stands up for herself and does what she can to survive
A reader has reincarnated into Edith Rigelhof, a villainess from a novel.
While she thinks that all she has to do is fix Edith’s reputation and then live happily ever after, she learns, for multiple reasons, it will be both difficult and potentially deadly.
One of which is that the world itself is against her interference.
Plus, unlike many other villainess stories, Edith has to deal with the consequences of her reputation from before she reincarnated.
There are many times when other characters doubt or accuse her of wrongdoing just because she’s Edith and not much else to which she has to defend herself with logic and reasoning.
While she does try to make a difference by acting and working in ways that are kind or helpful to others, those situations still happen without fail.
10. Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine
You’ll probably love this if you want an OP FL stopping tragedies as she changes the plot of a story
Ailette has been reincarnated into a world that’s destined to be destroyed.
Before that, she was a woman who died in an accident and was sent into the afterlife where people were assigned to new worlds to be reborn in.
Worlds they have read about in novels, to be specific.
She’s genre-savvy enough to catch on and wanted to transmigrate into a relaxing childcare story but was instead sent to a world of infinite time loops with an S-level difficulty.
Not only that, she’s sent to the 17th time loop of that world’s protagonist, one of the most difficult in the entire story.
Despite those setbacks, Ailette has the chance to change fate thanks to a special insurance package she agreed to receive right before she died.
11. Author of My Own Destiny
I recommend this if you want a mage FL who can fight and is one of the strongest in-universe characters
Fiona is supposed to be the final boss who gets killed by the novel’s main couple.
Instead, its author has taken her place as a child.
Not wanting to become the final boss, Fiona decides to use her magic for good when her family decides to send her north to fight in the war against monsters.
That goes well until she accidentally saves the protagonist, Siegren, and befriends him.
12. I Became the Tyrant’s Chambermaid
This FL keeps her customer service smile while serving a tyrant known for killing servants and can defend herself
Lee Chaerin was a hotelier before dying in an accident.
Now, she’s reincarnated inside of a novel as Rose, chambermaid to the protagonist, Kalix Forsman.
Kalix is known as a tyrant, killing every chambermaid before her.
However, Rose soon realizes the novel left out some details concerning Kalix and those chambermaids.
To keep herself alive, she relies on her hotelier skills to get on his good side, her experience with escape rooms to solve problems, and a magical diary to avoid assassination attempts.
13. The S-Class Lady
I suggest this if you want a reincarnation manhwa with an OP FL who doesn’t forget the original FL
To return home, S-Class hunter Kim Yiyoung fought monsters for 500 years across several time loops inside a novel.
And defeating the final boss should’ve done that but she’s instead reincarnated into another novel.
She’s now Renee Markious, a villainess who’s been framed and imprisoned for murdering a saint.
Yiyoung isn’t helpless though, she still has her strength, skills, and Astras (gods) to back her up and is more than ready to prove Renee’s innocence so she can finally go home.
14. Regina Rena: To The Unforgiven
Read 46 chapters (S1 completed) on 
WEBTOON
This FL is gentle but will happily fight when necessary
When Rena Rubel was young, she was sacrificed by her father in an attempt to overthrow the empress of the Grasha Empire.
She survived, unbeknownst to him, and grew up to become a mercenary.
Now she’s returned to fight in a war the empress is waging and to meet him.
Rena will give her father a chance to be forgiven or make him suffer.
15. The Villainess Turns the Hourglass
Buy the e-book or paperback on Amazon
I recommend this if you want a revenge manhwa with a FL willing to manipulate others to reach her goals
After her mother married into a count’s family, Aria spent a decade bullying her stepsister, Mielle, eventually leading to her execution.
But before dying, Mielle tells Aria she was actually manipulating Aria into bullying her so Mielle could get rid of her.
After her death, Aria wakes up as her 14-year-old self and decides to use her second chance at life to get revenge on Mielle.
And she gets some additional help from a magical hourglass.
16. The Archduke’s Fabulous Fake Marriage
This FL can defend herself from assassination attempts with magic
In her previous life, Shaye was a broke art graduate.
Now she’s an art mage for sale at a slave auction until Archduke Lacius saves her.
Lacius wants Shaye to testify against the slavers but he also wants her to solve his problem: stalkers.
From noble ladies to newspapers, many will not leave him alone.
So he offers Shaye a deal, pretend to be his villainess wife and get paid enough to live comfortably for a lifetime.
While Shaye starts successfully scaring away his stalkers, the other villainesses won’t back down as easily.
17. Charming The Duke Of The North
Read 91 chapters (completed) on WEBTOON
Try this if you want a FL who adapts and stands up for herself in a foreign world
Rinha is a famous actress who woke up in the Kingdom of Iklein after getting into an accident.
Just as she’s attacked by a demon, she’s saved by Calcion, the northern duke.
He offers her a chance to go home if she acts as his lover while investigating the death of his previous fiancée-to-be, Airel.
While Rinha can easily play her role, investigating gets murky as she gradually understands Airel’s position.
18. I am a Level 999 Demon Queen
You might enjoy this if you like an OP FL going against the plot
Originally, the Demon Lord was supposed to usher in an age of demons like the final boss in “The Power of Love.”
Instead, she’s settled down in the northern duchy of the Grace empire where the blizzard never ends and there’s a constant threat of a monster invasion.
Her name is Raina Rubellite and she was previously a terminally ill girl who was reincarnated into Raina after a god misinterpreted her wish.
While her new life certainly isn’t what she wanted, being an overpowered Demon Lord with dark magic comes with perks such as the freedom to ignore the plot and easily fend off assassins from her father.
Though as she continues to do as she pleases and even help those around her, it’s clear her magic and prophecy aren’t what they appear to be.
19. Master Villainess the Invincible
You might like this if you want a historical manhwa with an OP FL and good action scenes
Haewon Tang was supposed to be a villainess according to the plot of the murim novel she read in her first life.
Unable to use martial arts and fated to die a horrible death, Haewon sets out to become stronger and avoid what will cause her downfall.
In turn, she starts changing the plot, gaining new friends and allies along the way.
20. The Price of a Broken Engagement
You might enjoy this if you want a morally gray FL who’s not afraid to use everyone including herself for revenge
After Ersia Fesentera was chosen as the next crown princess due to a prophecy, she spent 18 years of her life studying and working for the royal family and empire.
However, she’s suddenly told the prophecy’s changed and another girl will become crown princess.
And despite her dedication, everyone from the crown prince to her allies abandons Ersia without hesitation.
Now she’s on a mission to pay everyone back for abandoning her, starting with the crown prince and new crown princess.
And that’s all for now!
I’ll be adding more titles to this list in the future so feel free to bookmark this page.
Check out my other posts through the tags below.
Leave a Reply